Spanakopita

If you've never had Spanakopita before, it's like deep fried spinach dip, except it's not fried - it's baked - and the filling is made with feta cheese so it's actually lighter than it leads you to believe with its crispy, buttery crust and creamy, delicious inside.  It takes some effort to make, but it is not difficult.  You can also make it in advance and refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake.

Ingredients:  olive oil, onion, scallion, frozen chopped spinach, eggs, parmesean cheese, plain dry bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt, pepper, feta cheese, phyllo dough and butter.

Saute the onions and scallions in the olive oil until soft.

Meanwhile, squeeze as much of the liquid as possible out of the defrosted spinach and add it to a mixing bowl.

Shred the parmesean cheese and dice the feta cheese.

To the bowl with the spinach, add the onions, beaten eggs, grated parmesean cheese, bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

And mix it all together.

Then gently toss in the feta.

On a work surface, lay out one sheet of phyllo dough, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Continue layering phyllo dough, melted butter and bread crumbs until you have four layers of dough.  Slice it in half lengthwise with a pizza cutter.

Add about 1/3 cup of the spinach filling to the end of one piece of the dough.

Like a flag, fold one corner diagonally over the filling.

Then fold the entire triangle over straight.

And then diagonally again.

And straight again.

And diagonally until you reach the end of the sheet.

Repeat with the rest of the phyllo until you have prepared all of the pastries.  Place them seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until they are flaky and golden.

Oh my.  That is just so scrumptious!  Look at those flaky golden layers.  Incredible!

Copy and paste the recipe below into Word for printable version:

Spanakopita

Makes 12 strudels

1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. chopped yellow onion
3 scallions, chopped
2 10 oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp. grated parmesean cheese
plain dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 c. small diced feta cheese
3 tbsp. toasted pine nuts
24 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
1 stick melted butter
sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Het the olive oil in a medium saute pan, add the onions, and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat.  Add the scallions, and cook for another 2 minutes until the scallions are wilted but still green.  Meanwhile, gently squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a large bowl.

When the onion and scallions are done, add them to the spinach.  Mix in the eggs, Parmesean cheese, 3 tbsp. bread crumbs, the nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Gently fold in the feta and pine nuts.

Place one sheet of phyllo dough flat on a work surface with the long end in front of you. Brush the dough lightly with butter and sprinkle it with a tsp. of bread crumbs.  (Use just enough bread crumbs so the layers of phyllo don't stick together.)  Pile 4 layers total on top of each other this way, brushing each with butter and sprinling with bread crumbs.  Cut the sheets of phyllo in half lengthwise.  Place 1/3 c. spincach filling on the shoter end and roll the phyllo up diagonally as if folding a flag.  Then fold the triangle of phyllo over straight and then diagonally again.  Continue folding first diagonally and then straight until you reach the end of the sheet.  The filling should be totally enclosed.  Continue assembling phyllo layers and folding the filling until all of the filling is used.  Place on a sheet pan, seam sides down.  Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with flaked salt, and bake for 30 to 35 mintues, until the phyllo is browned and crisp.  Serve hot.

Source:  Barefoot Contessa

Tzatziki Sauce

Greek food is nowhere to be found in Durant, Oklahoma.  Period.  Nothing that even resembles it.  So I've learned to make it at home.  And the most important dish to have with any Greek meal?  Tzatziki Sauce!

Ingredients:  Greek yogurt, cucumber, sour cream, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, dill, garlic, salt and pepper.

Add the yogurt and sour cream to a bowl.

Grate the cucumber onto some paper towels.  If you buy a Hothouse seedless cucumber (the long ones that come wrapped in plastic), you don't have to peel or seed it.  If you buy a regular cucumber, make sure you peel and seed it first (but you'll loose the pretty green color).

Then take another dry paper towel (or two or three) and squeeze the grated cucumber in it over the sink to extract as much of the liquid as possible.  It will loose alot of its volume.  Plop the squeezed cucumber in with the yogurt and sour cream.

Then add the lemon juice, vinegar, dill garlic, salt and pepper.

And mix it all together.  You can eat it immediately, but it's better if it chills for a while.

I could eat this stuff by the spoonful!  Serve it with pita bread and grilled meat.  My absolute favorite lamb recipe is this one (Barefoot Contessa - of course!).  This is what is sitting on the plate next to my sauce.  I'm one lucky girl ;)

Link to the printable recipe:

Tzatziki Sauce

Source:  Barefoot Contessa

Easy Risotto in the Oven

I love, love, love risotto.  I've made it many times, each time standing over the stove and stirring for 30 minutes or more - because I think it's totally worth it.  But the other day I saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa that changed my life.  Ina made risotto in the oven!  I had to try it.  And I have to say it's even better than the stove top kind.  It's extra tender and creamy.  I'll never make risotto on the stove again.

Ingredients:  arborio rice, chicken stock, parmesean cheese, white wine, butter, salt, pepper, and frozen peas.

This is just a basic risotto recipe, but you could add any kind of herbs, vegetables and cheese you like!  In the future I will be adapting all my risotto recipes to this one because it was so easy  :)

Mix the rice and chicken stock in a dutch oven, cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the rice is cooking, shred some parmesean cheese, dice some butter and measure the frozen peas.

Once the rice is done cooking in the oven, add the cheese, butter, wine and more chicken stock.

Stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the risotto is creamy.  The wine will deglaze the pan so scrape the bottom and sides as you are stirring.

Season with salt and pepper and mix in the frozen peas.  They will thaw and warm from the heat of the risotto.

And seriously..that's all.  This recipe comes from Ina's cookbook "Barefoot Contessa:  How Easy Is That?"  And really, how easy is that?!?  You've changed my life Ina!

Link to the printable recipe:

Easy Risotto

Source:  Barefoot Contessa

Eggs Benedict

My husband and I have recently made a routine of making a really good breakfast every Sunday morning.  Usually he makes his AMAZING biscuits and gravy.  But today he had to work so I thought I would whip up something easy but more decadent than my regular weekday breakfast which usually consists of fruit, yogurt and cereal.  And so...Eggs Benedict!

Ingredients:  English muffin, Canadian bacon, eggs, butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.

Make the Hollandaise sauce first because it can sit at room temperature while the eggs cook.  To make it, start by melting some butter.

Add egg yolks, freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper to a blender.

Blend on low speed for about 15 seconds.  Then, with the blender running, pour in the melted butter and blend for about 30 more seconds until you have a thick but pourable sauce.

Yum!  Let this sit while you make the rest of the dish.

Melt some butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat and toast the English muffin.

Then lightly brown some slices of Canadian bacon.

Rinse the pan with cold water to cool it down and wipe it out with a towel.  Heat some more butter over medium heat until it bubbles.  Then crack your eggs into the pan and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.

This is a shortcut method to poaching eggs.  Add a couple of tablespoons or so of water to the pan and partially cover it so some of the steam can escape.

Let them cook for a minute or two depending on how runny you like the yolks.  The water will slightly poach the eggs.  When they are done you can use a spatula to cut off the very thin edges of the egg whites.

To assemble, layer the toasted muffins.

Browned Canadian bacon.

And "poached" eggs.



Drizzle the Hollandaise sauce over the eggs.

And breakfast is served!  I like my eggs soft but not too runny, but you can cook them however you like.  Serve this with mimosas or bloody marys and you have the perfect Sunday brunch.  This makes me miss my days in the city.

Link to the printable recipe:

Note, this recipe is for the Hollandaise sauce only.

Hollandaise Sauce

Source:  Barefoot Contessa